2016 Year in Review

Your support has created incredible impact in 2016. You helped launch a new program in Malawi. You strengthened our work in countries like Kenya, Zambia and Zimbabwe. You enabled more than 45,000 bicycles to be delivered into the hands of students, healthcare workers and entrepreneurs. Read our 2016 Year in Review to see the milestones and impact you made possible in 2016.

Palabana Dairy Research Study

Since 2007, you have provided Buffalo Bicycles through our programs in the Palabana region of Zambia. In February, we shared a new research study highlighting the impact of Buffalo Bicycles on the lives of dairy farmers at the Palabana Dairy Cooperative. Learn how your support is empowering this community to thrive.

300,000 Bikes and Counting

In May 2016, thanks to you, we exceeded 300,000 bicycles distributed. Since 2005, you have changed more than 1.5 million lives across Africa, South America and Southeast Asia. Bicycles are empowering people to move forward, and you are making a difference.

Riding for Change

This year, you rallied for change around the world.

Techbikers Pedal Poland to Berlin

TechBikers, a tech community initiative, put down their laptops and cycled from Poland to Berlin. In 2016, this group of riders networked and rode 400 km to mobilize people with bicycles.

London to Cape Town

Cyclists James Davis and Emily Conrad-Pickles completed a 12-month 19,000 km cycling expedition from London to Cape Town. They crossed 25 countries, climbed 120,000 meters and burned 600,000 calories to raise funds and awareness for World Bicycle Relief.

Rebecca Rusch Summits for Students

In March, professional athletes Rebecca Rusch and Patrick Sweeney conquered the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro by bike to raise funds to provide 131 new bicycles for students. Sponsored by Red Bull, their trip culminated with a visit with recent bicycle recipients at Lwanda Secondary School in Kakamega, Kenya. Watch their incredible journey.

Meaningful Milestones

In April, we shared our annual Impact Report showcasing your impact from the previous year. View the report to learn about the programs you made possible, the people you empowered, and how your impact is maximized by combining philanthropic gifts with social enterprise.

Support for HIV and AIDS

Since 2006, your support has enabled volunteer healthcare workers to serve their clients better. This year, working with Plan International, we provided Buffalo Bicycles to 603 Community Health Volunteers (CHVs) in Kenya. The project – Nilinde – supports orphans and vulnerable children and aims to improve the welfare and protection of 92,990 households affected by HIV/AIDS. The bicycles improve the mobility of the CHVs and reduce travel time to allow them better access to patients.

Your Impact: One Year Later

In July, 2015, you helped launch our education program in Kenya. Now in its second year, the changes we are seeing in Kenyan girls’ lives are nothing short of amazing. Read this Guardian article highlighting how bikes are providing education and safety to young girls in Kenya.

In The News

Supporters and media alike are sharing, our message with new audiences around the world.

Revisiting A Success Story

European Culture Channel, ARTE returned to Zambia to learn what had become of the Buffalo Bicycles and recipients they had interviewed four years prior.

Rodale Publishing included World Bicycle Relief in the Rodale Top 100– a listing of people and organizations “changing the face of the health and wellness universe in 2016 and beyond.”

What You Do Matters

World Bicycle Relief took part in a new documentary focusing on the value of philanthropy. In What You Do Matters, WBR co-founders FK Day and Leah Missbach Day share their story of making a difference in the lives of others.

Putting Wheels In The Field

Many Malawian students, particularly girls, are unable to access education due to the barrier of distance. In July, you made our Wheels in the Field: Malawi campaign a success – launching our Bicycles for Educational Empowerment Program (BEEP) in Malawi. Initial distributions of 3,000 bicycles for students are underway. The first distributions took place at Manyamba Primary School where bicycles are already changing lives.

A Second Chance

A recent Kenyan news article explores the impact of the Buffalo Bicycle on Kenyan girls, especially those who would otherwise suffer harassment from male motorcycle taxi drivers on their route to school. The Buffalo Bicycle has empowered girls to safely travel to school without needing to depend on others to get there. It has also become an important tool that enables young mothers to complete their education after having a child. The bike has helped reduce school dropouts and prevent early pregnancies.

A Way Forward

There is still time for you to make A Way Forward in 2016. Around the world, 29 million girls do not attend secondary school. In rural Africa, distance, inequity, and early marriage stand between these young girls and their futures. But with bicycles, there is a way forward. We hope the inspiring stories of Angela and Dianah encourage you to empower more students with bicycles. Give before the end of the year and your donation will be matched 1:1. Make a way forward here.

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A Mission For Change

Unsere Vision

World Bicycle Relief is mobilizing people through the Power of Bicycles. We envision a world where distance is no longer a barrier to education, healthcare and economic opportunity. World Bicycle Relief is a registered 501c3.